Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Numbers
Book: Numbers
Chapter: 23
Overview:
Balak's
Sacrifice,
Balaam pronounces a blessing instead of a
Curse.
(1-10) Balak's disappointment, and second
Sacrifice,
Balaam again blesses
Israel.
(11-30)
1-10 With the camps of
Israel full in view,
Balaam ordered
Seven altars to be built, and a
Bullock and a
Ram to be offered
On each. Oh the sottishness of superstition, to imagine that
God
will be at
Man's beck! The
Curse is turned into a blessing,
By
the overruling power of
God, in
Love to
Israel.
God designed to
serve his own
Glory By Balaam, and therefore met him. If
God Put
a
Word into the mouth of
Balaam, who would have defied
God and
Israel, surely he will not be wanting to those who desire to
Glorify God, and to edify his people; it shall be given what
they should speak. He who opened the mouth of the
Ass, caused
the mouth of this wicked
Man to speak words as contrary to the
desire of his
Heart, as those of the
Ass were to the powers of
the brute. The
Miracle was as great in the one case as in the
other.
Balaam pronounces
Israel safe. He owns he could do
No
more than
God suffered him to do. He pronounces them happy in
their distinction from the
Rest of the nations. Happy in their
Numbers, which made them both honourable and formidable. Happy
in their last
End.
Death is the
End of all men; even the
righteous must die, and it is good for us to think of this with
regard to ourselves, as
Balaam does here, speaking of his own
Death. He pronounces the righteous truly blessed, not only while
they live, but when they die; which makes their
Death even more
desirable than
Life itself. But there are many who desire to die
the
Death of the righteous, but do not endeavour to live the
Life of the righteous; gladly would they have an
End like
theirs, but not a way like theirs. They would be saints in
Heaven, but not saints
On Earth. This saying of
Balaam's is only
a wish, not a
Prayer; it is a vain wish, being only a wish for
the
End, without any care for the means. Many seek to quiet
their consciences with the promise of future amendment, or take
up with some false
Hope, while they neglect the only way of
Salvation,
By which a sinner can be righteous before
God.
11-30 Balak was angry with
Balaam. Thus a
Confession of
God's
overruling power is extorted from a wicked
Prophet, to the
confusion of a wicked
Prince. A second time the
Curse is turned
into a blessing; and this blessing is both larger and stronger
than the former. Men change their minds, and break their words;
but
God never changes his mind, and therefore never recalls his
promise. And when in
Scripture he is said to repent, it does not
mean any change of his mind; but only a change of his way. There
was
Sin in
Jacob, and
God saw it; but there was not such as
might provoke him to give them up to ruin. If the
Lord sees that
we trust in his
Mercy, and accept of his
Salvation; that we
indulge
No secret
Lust, and continue not in rebellion, but
endeavour to serve and
Glorify him; we may be sure that he looks
upon us as accepted in
Christ, that our sins are all pardoned.
Oh the wonders of
Providence and
Grace, the wonders of redeeming
Love, of pardoning
Mercy, of the new-creating
Spirit!
Balak had
No Hope of ruining
Israel, and
Balaam showed that he had more
reason to fear being ruined
By them. Since
Balaam cannot say
what he would have him,
Balak wished him to say nothing. But
though there are many devices in
Man's
Heart,
God's counsels
shall stand. Yet they resolve to make another attempt, though
they had
No promise
On which to build their hopes. Let us, who
have a promise that the
Vision at the
End shall speak and not
Lie, continue
Earnest in
Prayer, Lu 18:1.